ARC Review: Capturing the Earl (The Wallflowers of West Lane #3) by A.S. Fenichel
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Series: The Wallflowers of West Lane #3
Author: A.S. Fenichel
Published January 26th 2021 by Lyrical Press
Goodreads Synopsis
The friendship of four young ladies has created an indestructible bond to protect one another from the perils of love and marriage...
After the demise of her friend's disastrous marriage, Mercedes Parsons isn't about to let the widowed Wallflower of West Lane, Lady Aurora Radcliff, undertake another perilous trip to the altar. At least, not before the bridegroom-to-be is thoroughly investigated. If only Mercy could stop her uncharacteristic daydreaming about Wesley Renshaw's charm, his intellect, his dashing good looks. After all, the earl has already set his sights on her best friend! She must keep her wits about her and avoid giving into temptation.
Wesley is both irritated and intrigued by the machinations of Mercy—He cannot let her cleverness and beauty distract him. He needs to marry her friend, Aurora, so he can reclaim his family's ancestral home. A wrong he has hoped to right his entire life. Besides, who is penniless spinster Mercedes Parsons to decide whom he can and cannot marry? Yet while he admires her unwavering loyalty to her friends, he decides it's high time the misguided woman had a dose of her own medicine. Two can play at this spying game. But they are both embarked on a dangerous charade. And it won’t be merely Mercy's reputation at risk—or her heart on the line—as Wesley comes to the inescapable conclusion that he has found the right woman at exactly the wrong time.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
After two of her very close friends married recently, Miss Mercedes Hawke is anxious that everything is changing. She still has best friend, Lady Aurora Radcliff, who is adamant she will not remarry after her horrific first marriage, but when the one gentlemen to ever make Mercy think again starts to woo Aurora, she needs to put a stop to it. Wesley Renshaw, the Earl of Castlewick, has been more than intrigued by the beautiful Miss Hawke after their dance a few months ago, but needs to woo, and marry, the widowed Lady Radcliff to recover part of his ancestral estate that was sold off by his penniless and debt-ridden grandfather. Mercy is the only thing standing in his way, but the more they are together, the more their feelings and chemistry grow, and it soon becomes apparent that no one is wanting the marriage to go ahead, except for the Dowager Countess of Marsden. Will Mercy and Wesley find a solution to their problems, or was their relationship doomed from the start?
After finishing the previous book in the series, Misleading a Duke, I was fascinated by the Wallflower group, and definitely wanted to continue the series. Mercy and Wesley were wonderful characters, and voices for the story. Because of her upbringing, and losing her parents when she was 14, Mercy isn't exactly what you would call a catch in the ton, so is often overlooked, especially when her three best friends are either a duchess or a countess. She's used to this, but the attention and real chemistry between herself and Wesley was undeniable, and seeing him come and call, but to court Aurora, was heartbreaking. I really understood Wesley's motivation for it, but definitely appreciated the way he struggled with his own feelings too. He was drawn away from Aurora again and again to Mercy, and it was inevitable that the two of them would find themselves in more and more compromising situations. Unlike the previous book, there wasn't a lot of danger and angst, but the heartbreak was real, and pulling on my heartstrings on a wet, autumnal morning when I read Capturing the Earl. I'm not sure if there's another book planned, but I'd love to see Aurora be happy, and see more of the three main couples as they move on in their own relationships! I really need to get a copy of book 1 now, to see how Poppy and Rhys fell for each other.
Dates Read:
October 10, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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